Clothes stand

ABSTRACT

A clothes stand is described including a main body adapted to be attached to a vertical surface, and a support element, for hanging a dress thereon, which is coupled to said body so as to be able to move from a first retracted position to a second position in which it protrudes more outwardly from the body. The clothes stand is compact, light, not bulky and aesthetically pleasant.

The invention relates to a clothes stand.

Known clothes stand have the structure described in GB 2445536, with abase or tripod that holds a rod ending on top with projecting supportelements to hang clothes thereon. This item, usually made from wood, isvery popular, despite some inherent disadvantages.

First of all it clutters, because it occupies a corner or an entire wallof the house. Second, it is easily out of balance and it can fall,because its height is much greater than the width of the base. A heavygarment, or one which is hung quickly, often knocks over the stand, andfalling it can cause damage to nearby objects. Third, for householdcleaning it must be moved, especially during vacuuming.

The object of the invention is to overcome one or more of theseproblems, with a clothes stand and/or method as in the attached claims,in which the dependent claims define advantageous variants.

The inventive concept is to have generally a clothes stand comprising

-   -   a main body adapted to be attached to a vertical surface        (preferably in a raised position to the floor),    -   a support element, for hanging a dress thereon, which is coupled        to said body so as to be able to move from a first retracted        position (i.e. not much or not projecting at all from the main        body) to a second position in which it protrudes more outwardly        from the body.

In the second position a garment can be hung on the support elementwithout falling or slipping off. The displacement toward the secondposition of the support element not only allows the spacing of the freeend thereof from the body, and therefore the establishment of a properdistance for the hung garment from the wall and/or the body, but also itspatially distributes the ends of several support elements (e.g.radially) when they are present.

In general, the clothes stand can comprise guiding means for guiding thesupport element between said two positions. The invention can have manyvariants, especially in the way and/or means for displacing the supportelement.

It can be extractable from the main body, departing it radially away.The support element can be located completely, or partially, eitherinside the body or on an outside surface thereof.

The inventive concept of the method is defined in claim 19. Note thatall the variations claimed for the clothes stand can also definevariants of the method.

The advantages of the invention will be more clear from the followingdescription of a preferred embodiment of clothes stand, making referenceto the attached drawing in which

FIG. 1 shows a front view of a clothes stand;

FIG. 2 shows a section view of the clothes stand according to the planeAA;

FIG. 3 shows a sectional view of the clothes stand in FIG. 2 in a secondoperating configuration;

FIG. 4 shows a sectional view of a second clothes stand;

FIG. 5 shows a sectional view of the clothes stand in FIG. 4 in a secondoperating configuration;

FIG. 6 shows a sectional view of a third clothes stand;

FIG. 7 shows a sectional view of the clothes stand in FIG. 7 in a secondoperating configuration.

In FIG. 1, the clothes stand comprises a main body 10 (for exampleshaped like a vase or half a vase), having a back surface 16 (eg. flat)fixable by known means to a vertical wall W at a certain height from theground, and some (here five) equal support elements 20 (rods) that serveto hang a garment C thereon.

Each element 20 includes a rod 22, a head or knob 24 and anend-of-travel member 26.

The main body 10 is a hollow box, with a top opening 14 in which the rod22 of each element 20 is inserted so that the head 24 remains outsidethe body 10. The element 20 is coupled to the body 10 so as to beextractable. One can move it from a first retracted position (FIG. 2) toa second position (FIG. 3) wherein it is more tilted and, leaning on theedges of the opening 14, it projects more towards the outside of thebody 10.

The opening 14 allows the rod 22 a sufficient play to move, but theend-of-travel member 26 (e.g. a local thickening or folding of the rod22) cannot exit the opening 14 and constrains the element 20 to the body10.

When the element 20 is extracted it conveniently works as a hook to hanga dress C, whereas when it is withdrawn it reduces the overall size ofthe clothes stand. Note that the clothes stand does not touch theground, so it clutters very little and makes the household cleaningeasy.

The head 24 is generally optional, serving to reduce the sharp part ofthe rod 22 and to prevent creasing clothes. The head 24 can have anyshape, e.g. a flower with petals, which give a pleasant aesthetic effectand lighten it the volume being equal. Other equivalent forms are aheart, disc, or bottle shape.

The end-of-travel member 26 is generally optional too, since the supportelement may also be detachable and separable from the main body. Thereare many variants to couple the support element to the main body. Byinsertion and extraction (limited or not by stop means) as describedabove, or e.g. by hinging and/or articulation, see FIGS. 4 and 5.

This time a support element 34 is rotatably pivoted to a main body 30,and can be overturned (see arrow F) towards the outside of the body 30to form a support or “finger” on which a dress C can be hung.

A different variant (FIGS. 6 and 7) envisages to couple a hook means 42(e.g. a dowel, a hook, or a block) to a central body 40 by a cable orflexible part 46 (in case elastic). The means 42 is normally resting ina seat 44 of the body 40, but can be pulled/moved outside and made todangle on the body 40 providing a grip for a dress C.

The support elements may have a telescopically extendable part orstructure so as to extend linearly their free end, to hang the dress,away from the main body.

The central body and/or support elements may be constructed of anymaterial, e.g. glass, iron, plastic, ceramic, metal, and wood. If glassis used, or the central body is not opaque or has through-openings, thecentral body can be equipped with an internal light source (bulb orLED), to make it work as an enlightening device for environment and/orlife-saving emergency device. A battery or a solar panel can be used topower the light source regardless of the mains.

Even the supporting elements can be illuminated as described above.

Advantageously if the clothes stand comprises two or more supportelements it can be equipped with a device or mechanism forsimultaneously move all the support elements in the most external ormaximum extracted position (and/or vice versa). The advantage is toreduce maneuver times.

In general, the support element can be moved relative to the body 10manually or by driving means (not shown) controlled and operated byelectric energy (motors and/or actuators). It can also include a chainor rope displacement system, for example using pulleys, for liftingand/or withdrawing one or each support element.

They may be provided flexible means (e.g. springs) to return the supportelements in the retracted position.

1-19. (canceled)
 20. Clothes stand comprising a main body adapted to beattached to a vertical surface; a support element, for hanging a dressthereon, which is coupled to said body so as to be able to move from afirst retracted position to a second position in which it protrudes moreoutwardly from the body.
 21. Clothes stand according to claim 20,wherein the support element is extractable from the main body. 22.Clothes stand according to claim 20, wherein the support element ishinged and/or articulated to the main body.
 23. Clothes stand accordingto claim 20, wherein the support element is coupled through a flexibleelement to the main body.
 24. Clothes stand according to claim 23,wherein the flexible element is a cable, and the main body is optionallyequipped with means for rewinding the cable.
 25. Clothes stand accordingto claim 20, wherein the support element comprises a telescopicallyextendable portion.
 26. Clothes stand according to claim 20, wherein thesupport element is movably inserted inside a cavity of the main body.27. Clothes stand according to claim 20, wherein the support elementcomprises a stop or end-of-travel element adapted to establish themaximum projection of the support element in the second position. 28.Clothes stand according to claim 20, wherein the main body issubstantially hollow.
 29. Clothes stand according to claim 20, whereinthe support element comprises a rod movably inserted in a seat presentin the main body.
 30. Clothes stand according to claim 29, wherein therod comprises a head or knob or handle at the free end external to themain body.
 31. Clothes stand according to claim 29, wherein the rod hasone end inside the body, from which it protrudes via an opening, the rodcomprising at the end inside the body a knob or thickening havingdimensions larger than those of the opening.
 32. Clothes stand accordingto claim 20, wherein the main body comprises a light source inside. 33.Clothes stand according to claim 32, comprising a battery or a solarpanel to power the light source.
 34. Clothes stand according to claim20, comprising two or more support elements and a mechanism forsimultaneously moving all the support elements from/to the secondposition.
 35. Clothes stand according to claim 20, comprising motormeans for serving a or each support element.
 36. Clothes stand accordingto claim 20, comprising a chain, rope or pulley displacement system forlifting and/or withdraw a or each support element.
 37. Clothes standaccording to claim 20, comprising elastic means for withdrawing a oreach support element in the retracted position.
 38. Method forcreating/mounting a clothes stand, comprising coupling a main body,attachable to a vertical surface preferably at a certain height from theground, to a support element to which a garment can be hung, thecoupling being such that the support element can move from a firstretracted position to a second position in which it protrudes moreoutwardly from the body.